TUSKA
25-27.06.2009, Kaisaniemi Park,В Helsinki - Finland

words by Christina Dimitrova, photo: Christina Dimitrova

Tuska Open Air Metal Festival, or Tuska for short (means “pain” in Finnish) is definitely not as old as Nummirock, but is the biggest metal festival in Nordic countries.
It's history starts in 1998 in the Tavastia club and in 2001 it moved to the Kaisaniemi Park in the centre of Helsinki where it takes place to this day.

So far the all-time record is held by last year's edition when the festival has sold out 36 000 tickets. This year, maybe because of the financial crisis, there were only 28 000 attendants.

For three days in the last weekend of June in Kaisaniemi gather metalheads from all over Finland, the neighbouring countries, The Netherlands, Germany and, this year, a few Bulgarians.

Metal is so mainstream in Finland, that the newspapers devote it quite some space on their pages and the residents of Helsinki consider it a part of their everyday life.
A colleague of mine from the largest Finnish daily, Helsingin Sanomat, noted that he loves Tuska, because Helsinki turns into a “freak show” and “carnival”

The preparation for the festival has started earlier in the week, when the main stage was built to host the FAITH NO MORE show on June 24. Even though their concert is not officially part of the Tuska programme, everyone considers it a pre-Tuksa event, even more so because it was organised by the same promoter, Finnish Metal Events, and it is becoming a tradition to have a big concert in the days preceding the festival.

DAY ONE, June 26, Friday

GOJIRA kick off this year's edition of Tuska in the hot sun of the main stage in the early afternoon. Joe Duplantier, like many others after him, commented on the heat:  “It's fucking hot. We were expecting snow.” The crowd is pretty nonchalant about the heat and is happy as if it was their last metal show, and this is just the beginning of the three-day marathon.
GOJIRA end their set with The Way Of All Flesh from their eponymous album and we sneak into the backstage area, because the toilets there are more luxurious and have running water.

Joe Duplantier -В GOJIRA

The backstage bar is still empty under the afternoon sun so we slowly start walking towards the Sue stage, conveniently situated in a shady grove. The local post-metal band, Callisto, is due to start their set in a few minutes.
As we linger between the stages, I start understanding what my colleague from Helsingin Sanomat meant with the carnival comment. - Besides the well-familiar black t-shirts, chains, spikes and boots, there are some very picturesque characters – pirates, goths, glams, punks with colourful mohawks, nurses, fallen angels and a large number of guys in corpse paint, who presumably came to see tonight's headliner, Immortal.

I have been warned that the people dress up especially for Tuska, but am still rather impressed by the sight.
Most of the people came with their picnic baskets and booze (you can bring in liquor or beer, as long as it is in a plastic bottle) and have set up camp on the hill overlooking the Sue stage.

CALLISTO play something like Porcupine Tree and Anathema, while the singer sounds much like Thom Yorke.В 

CALLISTO

We miss All That Remains on the main stage and go to the Inferno tent, to see the local Rotten Sound. As their name suggests, they're too extreme for my taste and, besides, it is infernally hot and sultry in the black tent.

We go back to the Sue stage where the Dutch chaps from Legion Of The Damned are playing. There is a pretty big crowd, but, frankly, I am not awfully impressed.

The pleasant surprise for the evening, at least for me, are NEUROSIS on the main stage, who, it turns out, are a pretty old and influential band, which, much to my shame, I wasn't aware of.
After the end of their set I rush back to the Sue stage, which is besieged by a massive crowd bearing inflatable axes, drinking horns, horned helmets and other appropriate accessories, awaiting the local Viking-metal heroes, ENSIFERUM. The mood is quite boozy and slightly belligerent.В 

ENSIFERUM

ENSIFERUM are first-class battle metal. From the moment they get on the stage, the crowd boils up, said axes, bottles and drinking horns are brandished, while from the stage singer Petri Lindroos invites the people to drink. - In one hand he holds a pint of beer, in the other lonkero – a long drink of gin and grapefruit juice, which, it turns out, has been very popular with the Finns, ever since it was first marketed in 1952 for the Summer Olympic Games in Helsinki.

Enthralled by ENSIFERUM 's battle marches, 'Token of Time', 'Ahti', 'Hero In A Dream', 'Iron', etc., I almost miss the start of tonight's headliners, Immortal. I still manage to get to the main stage on time, just as Ensiferum were finishing their set with ‘Lai Lai Hei’.

IMMORTAL

I've always taken the Norwegian black metal with a grain of salt and consider it more of an exceptionally entertaining theatre show.

IMMORTAL, of course, are legends in the genre, so I try to watch them with appropriate evil and grim face, but their stage antics and poses make me laugh. The fact that the sun was still scorching at 9 P.M. obviously annoyed Immortal a great deal, as Abbath yelled maliciously: “Fuck the sun!” 

This is welcomed with jolly cheers from the Finns, who otherwise love the sun and sun themselves in parks and on beaches at every given opportunity.
Since I am not a fan of black metal genre, I decide to visit the food stands, but walk back to observe yet another of Immortal's antics. Under the crowd's cheers, Abbath left the guitar and took a massive drinking horn and a torch and demonstrated some impressive flame-swallowing. Thank the gods that he didn't try the trick on the beautiful white cathedral at Helsinki's Senate Square...

IMMORTALВ proceed with the evil attitude onstage, as I lose interest and go to the backstage buffet in search of food and beer.
The bar area is crowded and I have the odd feeling that I am in a “Who's who in Finnish metal” guide. Everybody knows each other – there are not so many Finns anyway – and it is logical to assume that the metal community is quite tightly-knit and everyone has played with each other in a band at one time or another.

I recognise Niclas, Jan and Santeri from Amorphis, members of Korpiklaani and the young metal celebrity Rony Г–sterlund whose father takes him to all major metal events in Helsinki. Little Rony is so cute and so well smeared in red-and-white corpse paint, that I can't resist, and have my picture taken with him.

Tuomas Saukkonen of Before the Dawn and Black Sun Aeon is also hanging around, so I, with a million apologies ask him for an autograph, which he politely gives me.

В IMMORTAL fans

After a bland, but at least warm, dinner of something with ham, cream and potatoes, swallowed with cold and expensive beer, we are gathering the stamina to go the gig of the Polish progressive rock band RIVERSIDE in Tavastia, which is part of the Tuska club programme.

I am quite excited by the prospect of finally visiting the notorious club.
I thought it was bigger, but, frankly, size doesn't matter. The place has thee bars – one in the lobby, which is conveniently equipped with large screens, showing in real time the proceedings on the stage, and two smaller bars – one on the ground flood inside and another on the balcony.

I've only heard of RIVERSIDE as a name, but the argument of my kind hosts that since I like Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree, I'll surely like Riverside, had me convinced.
Indeed Riverside are a fantastic band and, judging by the full club, rather popular in Finland, which, I think, is well-deserved.

The Pink Floyd, Tool and Porcupine Tree influences are easily recognisable and I enjoy it so much that blissfully float away on my barstool.В 

The Bulgarian fans atВ TUSKA 2009 - Christina is far right

DAY TWO, June 27, Saturday

The weather stinks again and the typically Nordic powdered rain is pissing it down again. I guess the boogeymen from Immortal jinxed the sun last night.

We eat breakfast, or actually lunch, accompanied by Pink Floyd's 'Atom Heart Mother' from an original vinyl, just to continue the mood of the brilliant Riverside gig in Tavastia last night.

We get to the Kaisaniemi park shortly before the gig of SABATON, who switched their slot with The Faceless, who had a delayed flight.

Sabaton deliver quite the surprise for me, especially after having read that they play power metal, sing about wars and Last.fm lists Manowar among the similar bands.

Actually, SABATON are exceptionally cool and friendly and smile throughout their entire set. They remind me of Edguy, while their singer Joakim Brodén doesn't stop teasing the audience and make self-ironic jokes of the type “We are a modern band, we sing about war” or, presenting 'Into the Fire' with the words: “this, shockingly, is another song about war”.

The audience is quite numerous and joyful, while between the anthems about panzers, the fatherland, battles and Berlin in flames,В  BrodГ©n doesn't stop thanking, raising toasts and explaining how much he loves Finland and the Finnish people, especially because they fought valiantly in the WWII, while Sweden remained neutral.

Jon Oliva

After the one hour entertainment with Sabaton, I rush to the Sue stage to see JON OLIVA'S PAIN, mostly because of the old glory of Savatage. Maybe because of this and my great expectations, after the three songs in the photo pit I quickly lose interest and don't even wait for the promised Savatage songs.В 

Instead I go to have a look at The Faceless who are playing cool technical death metal and then set off to look for my Bulgarian buddies who were chasing Sabaton for autographs.
After a brief consultation my friends go to reserve places in the first row for the Amorphis gig, while I go to the overcrowded Inferno tent to watch KORPIKLAANI. The throng is so thick, that we have to take turns in the photo pit.

As expected, the fun with KORPIKLAANI is endless. - Vodka, beer, beer, vodka, beer with vodka and ‘Juodan Viinaa’ (Let's drink alcohol) in general. On the stage is flying hair and are brandished bottles, accordions and reindeer horns, while the audience is totally overjoyed and having a real good time. - Alcohol, after all, is a popular Finnish pastime.

KORPIKLAANI

Р—Р° Much to my regret, I can't watch the entire KORPIKLAANI set, because I must not miss the Amorphis gig. This time I decide to go to the photo pit to shoot the first three songs and then just be a part of the audience and enjoy myself.

This time the weather magic doesn't work and it's drizzling during the entire Amorphis set. This, of course, doesn't matter at all neither to me, nor to the really big crowd.

I've always suspected that AMORPHIS are popular in their home country, but was definitely surprised by the massive scale of their popularity.

After the host announced the start of their set, the hammer of the forger of the skies Ilmarinen is drowned out by a wild roar of approval, while I am smiling happily in the photo pit. A few of my colleagues, just like me, are wearing a bit faded AMORPHIS t-shirts.



’Majestic Beast’ is again the opening track and there can hardly be a more appropriate one. It's power and energy are, well, majestic, while the beautiful melody of the chorus creates the feeling of soaring in the skies on the back of the sacred eagle.

The sheer volume of ‘Towards and Against’ almost blows my cap away, while the crowd keeps on roaring with enthusiasm. What follows is the pure magic of ‘Sky Is Mine’ and during ‘Magic and Mayhem’ we are politely escorted out of the photo pit.

I leave the backstage area quickly and manage to push my way to the first 3-4 rows. The setlist is exactly the same as the one at Nummirock the week before, which means that my wish of hearing ‘Greed’ live again will be granted.

The atmosphere is somewhat different this time. Besides the much larger crowd, Amorphis seem somehow more relaxed, maybe because they play in their hometown, the temperatures are definitely more summery and the band had time to rest for a week. The trademark old-school microphone of Tomi Joutsen is still out of commission, after he'd pretended he was a cowboy with a lasso at the Kalajoki Midsummer bash the night before their gig at Nummirock, so he is using a plain-looking one.

It seems that Joutsen is quite the joker, but I don't get the jokes, because my Finnish hasn't improved much since last week. Well, next time, perhaps.

During ‘The Smoke’, one of my most favourite Amorphis songs, I scream the entire lyrics and pump my fists in the air with the people around me. What follows are ‘Sampo’, ‘Silver Bride’, ‘The Castaway’ and my special treat – ‘Greed’. The studio version of this song is great, but live it's a pure gem and I am in total euphoria.

More often than not, I catch myself wishing that AMORPHIS re-recorded some of their old songs with Tomi Joutsen and ‘Greed’ is definitely on my wish-list. With all the respect due to the former singer Pasi Koskinen, I think that Joutsen is better at singing the clear vocals. As for the death growls, I believe that there is no point in starting a discussion.

The staple on the setlist and the song that got me hooked up on AMORPHIS, ‘Alone’, is next. - Yet another song that should be re-recorded or at least included in a live compilation. I can only hope that the infamous live DVD, which is being discussed for ages, will finally be released and will include this song. Maybe next year, for the 20-th anniversary of Amorphis, it will finally come into being. 

The improvised encore includes ‘House of Motherfucking Sleep’ and ‘My Kantele’ and it is the end, again...

I can already hardly wait for the AMORPHIS gig in Sofia on October 30!

After this set I am emotionally exhausted and euphoric at the same time – seeing your favourite band twice within a week is a rare luxury.

For this reason I pay very little attention to tonight's headliners SUICIDAL TENDENCIES and go to the backstage bar with the hope to see someone from AMORPHIS and to thank them for the fantastic concert, but they're nowhere to be seen, so I devote my full attention to the alcoholic assortment on offer.

ST deserve MUCH MORE attention !!!!!!!

DAY THREE, June 28, Sunday

The last festival day starts for me sometime around 3 P.M. and I am slightly hungover. - Vodka, beer and  Jägermeister is a recipe for krapula (hangover).

While hiding under a shade and drinking water and “Battery” I establish that today the backstage is teeming with small Japanese men. I have been informed that the j-rock is very popular with the Finnish teenagers and today's programme includes two Japanese bands, which definitely got me curious.

At 3.30 P.M. STAM1NA hit the main stage. I wasn't very impressed with them at Nummirock, and am not very impressed now, either. Even more so when they did the “Axl Rose” on us and walked off the stage after the middle of their set when someone threw a plastic bottle at them. Mitä vittua?!

I go to the Sue stage to see ELUVEITIE, whom I've always liked, and sit in the shade. Their Celtic folk metal refreshes me and I finally get rid of the unpleasant dryness in my mouth. I get so carried away, that almost miss the start of MY DYING BRIDE on the main stage..

MY DYING BRIDE

They surely have their fans, but make me so terribly depressed that I feel the urge to have a cold life-affirming beer. This positively is better than hiding in the corner and cutting my veins, which would be highly inappropriate in this gorgeous sunny afternoon.

While I socialise with colleagues from England and Brazil at the backstage bar, Aaron Stainthorpe, in a rare effort to communicate with the audience, complains from the sun. In my humble opinion, some sun and fresh air would probably do him good.

It is almost time for MUCC – the second Japanese band for the day and I don't want to miss it, since the other one -  Girugämesh – coincided with Eluveitie, so I rush to the Sue stage.
The fans of MUCCВ are mostly teenage girls who watch the empty stage with expectingВ  adoration in their eyes.

The four barefooted little Japanese are covered in generous amounts of make up, which makes them look like girls, but the hard rock they're playing is very pleasant, much to my surprise.В  The guitarist is laying down some really good solos, but it's a bit hard to hear them over the screaming teenagers.

MUCC

At the same time in the Inferno tent the Australians Parkway Drive are playing the so fashionable metalcore, while the crowd, consisting mostly of teenage boys, is trying hard to break down the fence around the soundboard with a massive moshpit.

It is a short festival day and fans of the last headliner for this year's Tuska, the Danish band VOLBEAT, are gathering in front of the main stage.

Currently VOLBEAT are massively popular in Western Europe, and though pleasant, I actually spent most of their set trying to figure out why they have such huge sales.
Maybe because I was too tired, or because I was saving the last of my energy for the macabre finale in the Virgin Oil Co. club tonight, but I found Volbeat's so-called “Elvis metal” somewhat boring and only livened up when they played a bit of Slayer's ‘Raining Blood’.
Surprisingly, I end up in the bar again.

VOLBEAT

The mood tonight is quite subdued because of the approaching end to the three-day metal festivities for this weekend, while I am outright sad, because the final evening of of Tuska is the penultimate night of my brilliant Finnish summer.

Shortly after the end of VOLBEAT 's gig, the security guys inform us that the bar is closing and we have to leave.

There is still a lot of time till BLACK SUN AEON take the stage in Virgin Oil Co. and we decide to spend it in the neighbouring Praha bar. It is filled with Tuska audience who parties on under the sounds of Metallica, Pantera, System of a Down, Megadeath and other schlagers.

There are a few people loitering in front of Virgin Oil Co., but the bouncer tells them off, since the first floor of the club is taken by a rather posh Italian restaurant, so I go back to Praha to finish my beer.

By the time we finally make it inside the Virgin Oil Co., the local melodeath band, Grendel, has started playing. The club is rather full, but definitely not as full as Tavastia on Friday. I was expecting quite the crowd for Black Sun Aeon, but it seems that the people prefer to drink at the bars and don't pay much attention to what is happening on the stage.

This is absolutely fine by me, because it means that I can float away into the melancholic abysses of Black Sun Aeon without being bothered by anything and anyone.

The stage is taken by three men – two guitarists and the musical prodigy Saukkonen who has composed, written the lyrics, played all instruments and produced the debut album of Black Sun Aeon ‘Darkness Walks Beside Me’.

Tonight he sits behind the drumkit.
One of the guitarists is Mynni Luukkajnen, who has provided some of the growling in the record, along with the special guests Tomi Koivusaari of Amorphis and Ville Sorvali of Moonsorrow, while the other guitarist takes the duties of the clean vocals.

The stage is shrouded in darkness, while ‘A Song For the Introduction’ plays on the PA. “A Song For My Wrath” erupts with Saukkonen's wild roar from behind the drumkit and it feels like a punch in the stomach.

What follows are ‘A Song For My Demise’ and ‘A Song For My Sorrow’, which is my personal favourite, because Tomi Koivusaari is growling in it. Tonight, unfortunately, he doesn't and his part is taken on by Saukkonen, but, nevertheless, this song is exceptionally good.

The stage is shrouded in darkness most of the time, only now and then a spotlight falls upon the person singing at the moment. The whole atmosphere is threatening and as macabre as a funeral procession, but at the same is scarily beautiful, just like the music in ‘Darkness Walks Beside Me’.

BLACK SUN AEON stick to the track listing in the album, so what comes next is the current single, ‘A Song For My Weakness’, then ‘Song For This Winter’ and all the way to the final track of the album, ‘A Song For The One Who Passed Away 4.9.2008’, written in memory of Tuuli Huovinen.

The stage is once again dark and empty.

This is the end of the Black Sun Aeon show and the end of this year's Tuska for me.

Next on the stage are due Depressed Mode (not a Depeche Mode tribute band), but I decide to put the end of my fantastic Finnish festival summer with Black Sun Aeon.

I prefer to have it this way – this gig, along with Riverside in Tavastia on Friday, the two Amorphis shows and Arch Enemy at Nummirock, are the shows that will be lodged in my mind for quite some time.

GALLERY